Yogurt has been a favorite in the diet of many cultures for centuries. It is prepared from milk, a highly nutritious food, and has achieved a reputation as being a relatively healthy source of nutrition. Indeed, its reputation for health goes beyond mere nutrition. It is relatively low in fat and is associated with healthy digestion and other benefits. As a consequence, people are wanting to expand its use from plain and acid-compatible flavors for single servings and as salad dressings and fruit toppings, to provide satisfying desserts. It has an appealing, tart taste. That taste is, unfortunately, not compatible with all flavors--notably, chocolate.
A number of commercial chocolate yogurt products have been introduced, but all of them have been criticized for their inability to adequately mask the sourness of yogurt. Sugar alone does not adequately meet the need. And, the addition of large amounts of buffering salts, starch or other materials can either affect the process of fermentation or reduce the stability of the final product.
One commercial product employs a compartmentalized package containing a flavored yogurt in one compartment and a very sweet syrup in another. The package is opened by removing a top seal and the contents are mixed to the degree desired by the consumer. Despite the high sweetness, the product still has a sourness incompatible with chocolate as most people know and enjoy it.
Another commercial product has a high starch and sugar content, but has been heat treated to kill off the starter culture and extend its shelf life. Many yogurt lovers insist on yogurt products with live and active cultures, and products of this type do not meet their expectations.
Other products have appeared with a chocolate flavor, without adequately addressing the tartness. These have been disappointments to many people having an expectation of chocolate enjoyment.
In our own work, we have experimented with buffering salts, but these either increase the pH to the point that stability in the refrigerator is diminished, cause an off flavor, or both.
There remains a need for a chocolate yogurt containing active cultures and having a non-acid taste compatible with chocolate, a new product form that enables the enjoyment of the product utilizing only normal channels of distribution, and processes for preparing them.